The present invention relates in general to powered toy airplanes, and in particular to a new and useful launcher particularly for windup airplanes, which incorporates a winder mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,644 issued to the inventor of the present application, discloses a toy missile which incorporates a rubberband powered launcher. The missile which is advantageously in the form of an airplane, has a rear portion carrying wings and a tail section, and a forward portion which is separable from the rear portion. A plurality of rubberbands are engaged around hooks on the front and rear portions to hold the two portions of the airplane to each other. A bore extends completely to the rear portion of the aeroplane and extends as a blind bore into the forward section of the airplane. A launcher in the form of a handle, trigger and guide rod are used in conjunction with the airplane. To launch the airplane, the rod is inserted through the bore of the rear section and engaged into the blind bore of the front section. The rear section is then pulled rearwardly until it reaches a hook connected to the trigger. The separation between front and rear sections of the airplane stretch the rubberbands and prepare the airplane for launch. By pulling the trigger, the rear section is released and rapidly slides along the rod until it engages the front section. The forward momentum of the rear section then launches the entire airplane, including its front section, off the rod and into flight. The airplane may also include an on-board jet assist unit for lengthening the flight.
Prop-driven rubberband powered toy airplanes are also known. The prop is manually rotated to twist the rubberband which stores potential energy. Generally, the prop is released at the same time the airplane is thrown into the air to add some boost to the trust of the rotating prop. Although effective, this system is wasteful of the very limited energy which can be stored by the rubberband motor in that the propeller usually turns multiple times before the airplane is launched, thus losing the higher energy of the rubberband motor which is available in the first instant after the prop is released.